Marketable Success

The first edition of the Market@Masdar on April 29th was a marketable success. During the day it is estimated that between 6,000 and 8,000 residents of Abu Dhabi visited the sustainable development. The PRT system carried nearly 3,600 passengers that day, greatly exceeding the envisioned capacity it was designed for.

The reactions of the public to the PRT was nothing but enthusiastic. During a period of 10 hours the demand for transportation (in each direction) exceeded the design capacity. The result was that waiting lines formed; although people were advised they could use the shuttle bus as an alternative, many elected to wait and use the podcars. Especially children seemed to greatly enjoy ‘driving’ the vehicle.

For 2getthere there were many positive experiences, ranging from the willingness to share a vehicle to carrying multiple strollers on a single trip. The system operated at a 99,4% system availability over the day, proving itself capable.